Week 8 - Spot.us

I think Spot.us is a really great example of the new opportunities available in journalism now. I like the idea of community funded journalism as a way for individuals to directly choose the type of news they want to receive. Most people can choose whatever venue they like best to receive their news from, but they really don't have any say on what gets published or covered. Spot.us gives readers the option to support their newspaper and see that their money is going to exactly what stories they are going to want to read.

I also like the fact that David Cohn and Spot.us uses freelance writers, including high school students, to produce news on all different topics. I believe that high school students, or any other good journalist, can produce an interesting and sophisticated article that functions as well as and article from high status reporters for the New York Times or other newspapers. I think freelance writers are a really valuable asset to Spot.us because their news is coming from several different people of diverse ages and backgrounds, producing more well-rounded news that will be applicable to a larger demographic.